PAH and Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contamination in Water, Suspended Particulate Matter, Sediments, and Biota in the Danube

Several analytical methods are used to measure petroleum hydrocarbons contamination in the environment. Each method provides different, specific information about the characteristics of the contamination. Only the results obtained with a particular analytical method can be used for a comparative study or a pollution trend analysis. The polluting aromatic hydrocarbons can be characterized in terms of fluorescence patterns; the contamination level/concentration can be calculated from the fluorescence intensity at specified excitation/emission wavelengths.

Interpretation of the fluorescence fingerprint of cyclohexane extracts of water, SPM, and bottom sediment samples, collected during the Joint Danube Surveys, as well as the results of the PAH analysis provided the following findings: (1) petroleum hydrocarbons in water were characterized by the fluorescence of gasoline; the concentrations varied in the range of 2–300 μg/L; (2) the level of oil contamination was similar in the SPM and the bottom sediment, characterized with the fluorescence of crude oil, and the concentrations varied between 5 and 500 mg/kg; (3) PAH determined in water, SPM, bottom sediment, and biota (mussels) showed similar trends in contamination as observed in the case of petroleum hydrocarbons. However, even the highest concentrations were usually below the EQS values according to the Directive 2013/39/EU, or the PELs in the Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines.